HUGE misunderstandings arising from Active Addresses vs Entities.
Entities: Estimates users via on-chain forensics
Active Addresses: Impacted by user growth, wallet activity (trade conditions), mempool congestion (drops in hash rate), fees spamming.
Chart: Unprecedented growth of users joining the network during this price dip while active addresses plummet.
-> It's a time of low volatility (less traders sending coins between exchanges to trade) and at a time when the network hash rate experienced The Great China Migration.
Any analysis using active addresses in this time where China tripped the power cord in April (power outages) and a historic banning of miners in May/June will be stupidly flawed.
Grayscale is a unique product. It's designed as a black hole that sucks in BTC.
No BTC ever leaves the trust, apart from Grayscale taking its 2% management fees from the holdings, this is the only way to reduce the GBTC inventory.
How does GBTC increase its holdings?
They allow accredited investors to add BTC into the trusts holdings in return for receiving shares in the trust (which normally trades at a premium to BTC).